Character Counts: A Schoolwide Plan to Promote the Qualities of Democratic Citizens

Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, students split into pairs to discuss and then in larger...

Scholars answer the question, What makes a good citizen?, with the help of a variety of stories that highlight different forms of active citizenship. After multiple engaging read-alouds, individuals discuss character traits observed, and...

Through class discussion and role playing scenarios, scholars share their perspectives regarding what character traits make up an ideal citizen, as well as what constitutes a negative citizen. 

Here is a set of wonderful activities that will offer young learners the chance to see how some prominent figures have taken action to ensure greater equality and fairness around the world. Given the context of the 2014 World Cup, the...

Caring, trustworthiness, and responsibility—these are only a few character traits in focus of a lesson based on stories from the Civil War era. Class members explore several influential lives while reading biographies that highlight...

What makes an ideal citizen? How can we as individuals do to impact our communities in a positive way? Discuss this important concept with your class with an interactive, creative activity and follow-up role play.

What rights and responsibilities do we exercise as citizens of not only the United States, but in the communities of our homes, schools, and state? How are some individual rights really disguised as responsibilities? Here is a nice...

Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson unit prompts class members...

Students select a favorite lesson and list character traits from that lesson to serve as indicators on various questions under review. Character traits included are honesty, compassion, strong work ethnic and respect for the environment.

Examine the conditions that brought forth Japanese internment camps. Young historians read Farewell to Manzanar and debate whether Japanese internment was inhuman or a necessary element of war. They then write Haikus describing the camp...